CBeck
AH fanatic
I know the topic of rifle scopes has been beaten to death (multiple times) on this forum, but after looking through a lot of rifle photos and doing some shooting today myself, I keep coming back to the same frustration.
Earlier today I was out shooting with my GPO SPECTRA mounted on a .280 Ackley Improved. I should say that I really love the scope—the glass is good, the illumination works well, and the overall features are excellent The magnification range is perfect. Honestly it has just about everything I want in a hunting scope with the exception of the overall size, particularly the bulkiness of the ocular bell. The scope itself is a 1.5–9×32 with a 30 mm tube and an illuminated G4i reticle.
It seems like nearly every quality scope now comes with a 30 mm tube, massive ocular bell, giant turrets, and some sort of tactical Christmas-tree reticle…..I understand that the newest glass, coatings, and illumination systems tend to show up in the 30 mm scopes first, and I also understand there’s a big movement on this forum—one I completely understand—for taking advantage of the latest technology and the wide range of magnification available on today’s riflescopes.
However, Looking through members’ rifle pictures here, I see that a lot of people still subscribe to low-magnification straight-tube optics, which I appreciate and love. But even many of those scopes—once you get into an illuminated reticle version—seem to grow these huge ocular bells that interfere with bolt throw, low mounting, and just generally look bulky on a classic sporter. Likewise, I have a hawke 1-8x24 straight tube illuminated on my 375 that I’m really like with but the exception of the large ocular.
I also realize everyone apparently needs a 30 mm tube so they can have 10 miles of elevation adjustment on their tactical turrets for long-range sniping, but it does make me wonder—why does no one seem to still make a simple hunting scope designed for shooting game at 300 yards and in, off the sticks…With the features we all want?
And yes, I understand the obvious answer: scope manufacturers follow market trends, and the tactical crowd is a big part of the market right now. But it still seems like there should be room for a well-built, traditional hunting scope.
Personally, what I’d really like to find is something much simpler:
• 1-inch tube
• Illuminated German #4 reticle with just a small illuminated center dot
• Capped hunting turrets, not exposed tactical knobs
• Clean reticle, not a Christmas tree grid
• Reasonably compact ocular so it clears the bolt handle and allows a low mount
Magnification-wise I’d be perfectly happy with something like:
• 2–7x
• 2–10x
• 3–9x
• 3–12x
With a 32-42 objective
It feels like the industry has gone all-in on the tactical market, and the more traditional hunting configurations are getting harder to find.
OK… rant over, I realized these things aren’t available. I just wanted to express my frustration and maybe see if anyone else has gone down the same rabbit hole looking for a simple hunting scope that apparently nobody makes anymore.
Yes, I would like to have my cake and eat it too!
Earlier today I was out shooting with my GPO SPECTRA mounted on a .280 Ackley Improved. I should say that I really love the scope—the glass is good, the illumination works well, and the overall features are excellent The magnification range is perfect. Honestly it has just about everything I want in a hunting scope with the exception of the overall size, particularly the bulkiness of the ocular bell. The scope itself is a 1.5–9×32 with a 30 mm tube and an illuminated G4i reticle.
It seems like nearly every quality scope now comes with a 30 mm tube, massive ocular bell, giant turrets, and some sort of tactical Christmas-tree reticle…..I understand that the newest glass, coatings, and illumination systems tend to show up in the 30 mm scopes first, and I also understand there’s a big movement on this forum—one I completely understand—for taking advantage of the latest technology and the wide range of magnification available on today’s riflescopes.
However, Looking through members’ rifle pictures here, I see that a lot of people still subscribe to low-magnification straight-tube optics, which I appreciate and love. But even many of those scopes—once you get into an illuminated reticle version—seem to grow these huge ocular bells that interfere with bolt throw, low mounting, and just generally look bulky on a classic sporter. Likewise, I have a hawke 1-8x24 straight tube illuminated on my 375 that I’m really like with but the exception of the large ocular.
I also realize everyone apparently needs a 30 mm tube so they can have 10 miles of elevation adjustment on their tactical turrets for long-range sniping, but it does make me wonder—why does no one seem to still make a simple hunting scope designed for shooting game at 300 yards and in, off the sticks…With the features we all want?
And yes, I understand the obvious answer: scope manufacturers follow market trends, and the tactical crowd is a big part of the market right now. But it still seems like there should be room for a well-built, traditional hunting scope.
Personally, what I’d really like to find is something much simpler:
• 1-inch tube
• Illuminated German #4 reticle with just a small illuminated center dot
• Capped hunting turrets, not exposed tactical knobs
• Clean reticle, not a Christmas tree grid
• Reasonably compact ocular so it clears the bolt handle and allows a low mount
Magnification-wise I’d be perfectly happy with something like:
• 2–7x
• 2–10x
• 3–9x
• 3–12x
With a 32-42 objective
It feels like the industry has gone all-in on the tactical market, and the more traditional hunting configurations are getting harder to find.
OK… rant over, I realized these things aren’t available. I just wanted to express my frustration and maybe see if anyone else has gone down the same rabbit hole looking for a simple hunting scope that apparently nobody makes anymore.
Yes, I would like to have my cake and eat it too!
Last edited:
